Glasgow Warriors reclaimed a top-four place in the Guinness PRO12 after a hard- fought 19-15 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at Scotstoun.

Having lost to Scarlets in the last round of games, Glasgow's performance was not a spectacular response and their coach Gregor Townsend will know his men must play better to mount a serious challenge for the silverware this season.

If the Welsh visitors had capped a spell of sustained pressure in the closing 10 minutes by claiming victory, there could have been few complaints in the home camp.

Glasgow's points came from a penalty try and a 14-point contribution with the boot by Duncan Weir. For Dragons, who now sit second from bottom, Geraint Rhys Jones landed five penalties in an immaculate kicking performance.

Jones made his first contribution after five minutes when he banged over a penalty after Chris Fusaro entered a ruck from the side. But the riposte was instant, with Weir slotting a three- pointer after a similar award from the next play.

Dragons raised the pace and pieced together a multi-phase attack that yielded a penalty inside the home 22. And Jones steered his kick between the posts to nudge the visitors back into the lead after 16 minutes.

The hosts were finding it tough to exit their 22 but as the clock ticked towards 20 minutes the home pack shunted the opposition eight backwards at a Dragons scrum inside the home danger zone.

That proved to be the foundation for Glasgow to enjoy a brief period in the ascendancy and Weir landed another penalty to restore parity - even if lasted for just five minutes, before the unerring boot of Jones nudged Dragons back ahead.

Late in the half, with the penalty count mounting, referee Dudley Phillips despatched Dragons scrum-half Richie Rees to the sin bin. However, the visitors held out until the break.

Glasgow thought they had scored two minutes into the second period when Niko Matawalu twice kicked ahead. However, he was beaten in the final sprint for the line by Ross Wardle.

The try was only delayed and a powerful surge at the ensuing five-metre scrum led to a penalty try and left Weir with a simple conversion. From the restart, Dragons earned another penalty and Jones again knocked it over, trimming the deficit to a single point.

A still sluggish Glasgow relied on Weir's boot to add three more points. And, with 14 minutes left, the international stand-off sent over another penalty via a post.

Jones then matched his rival's immaculate record with the boot when he succeeded with his fifth kick of the night but, despite a desperate finale, the Welshmen had to settle for a narrow defeat bonus point.